Why You Should Use A Computer Specifically Meant For Bitcoin Transactions And How To Do It

This is an opinion editorial by Arman The Parman, a Bitcoin educator passionate about personal privacy and factor to Bitcoin Magazine.Whats Wrong With Using A Regular Computer?When making bitcoin transactions, its perfect if your computer system has no malware. Obviously.If you keep your Bitcoin seed expression (usually 12 or 24 words) off the computer with a finalizing gadget (e.g., a hardware wallet– its main function), then you may believe its not that essential to have a “clean” computer– not true.A malware-infected computer system may read your Bitcoin addresses, exposing your balance to an assailant. They cant take bitcoin simply from knowing the address, but they can see how much you have and calculate from that if you are a worthy target. They may also in some way exercise where you live, for example, and threaten you to get you to pay a ransom.What Is The Solution?I encourage most Bitcoiners to utilize a devoted malware-free computer (with internet gain access to) for making Bitcoin deals. I suggest people utilize an open-source operating system like Linux Mint, but utilize Windows or Mac if you should– thats much better than utilizing a regular, well-used computer that inevitably has malware hidden in it.One barrier that people come across is setting up a brand-new operating system on such computer systems. This guide is to aid with that.There are lots of varieties of Linux and I have tried several. My recommendation for Bitcoiners is Linux Mint, since it is easy to set up, very fast (especially on bootup and shutdown), not bloated (every additional piece of software application is a risk), and has rarely crashed on me or behaved strangely (compared to other versions like Ubuntu and Debian). Some may be really resistant to a brand-new os, choosing Windows or Mac OS. I understand, but the Windows and Apple running systems are closed source, so we have to trust what theyre doing; I do not believe thats a good policy, but its not all or absolutely nothing. I d much prefer individuals use a committed, newly installed Windows or Mac OS computer rather than a well-used computer system (with who knows what malware has accumulated on it). One step much better is to use a freshly installed Linux computer.If youre nervous about utilizing Linux due to the fact that of the unknown, thats natural, however so is spending a long time learning. So much information is readily available online. Here is an excellent brief video presenting the fundamentals of the command line that I extremely recommend.Choose A ComputerIll start with what I believe is the finest choice. Ill provide my opinion on alternatives.Ideal OptionMy recommendation, if you can manage it, and if the size of your bitcoin stack validates it, is to get a new, entry-level laptop computer. The most standard design built these days is excellent enough to handle what its going to be utilized for. The processor and RAM specs are not appropriate, because they will all be good enough.AvoidAny tablet combination, including Surface Pro.Chromebooks, frequently the storage capacity is too low.Macs, they are pricey, and the hardware doesnt gel well with Linux operating systems in my experience.Anything refurbished or pre-owned (not an absolute deal breaker though). Rather, try to find a Windows 11 laptop computer (currently, Windows 11 is the current release. Well be getting rid of that software, dont fret.). I browsed on Amazon.com for “Windows 11 Laptop” and discovered this excellent example: The price of this one above is excellent. The specs suffice. It has an integrated camera which we can use for QR code PSBT deals (otherwise you d have to purchase a USB cam to do that). Do not fret about the fact that its not a well-recognized brand name (its cheap). If you want a better brand, itll cost you, for instance: Some of the more affordable ones have only 64GB of drive space. I have not tested laptops with drives that little; it is probably okay to have 64GB, but it might be pressing it.Other Options– TailsTails is an os that boots from a USB thumb drive and momentarily takes control of the hardware of any computer system. It uses Tor connections just, so you d require to be comfortable utilizing Tor. None of the data that you write to memory during your session is saved to the drive (it begins fresh whenever), unless you modify the settings and develop a long-term storage alternative (on the USB thumb drive), which you lock with a password.Its not a bad alternative and its totally free, however its a little cumbersome for our purposes. Installing brand-new software application on it is not a breeze. One good function is that it features Electrum, but the disadvantage of this is that you didnt install it yourself. Make certain the USB drive you use is at least 8GB. If you utilize Tails, your versatility is reduced. You may not be able to follow different guides to establish what you need and get it working effectively. If you follow my guide to setting up Bitcoin Core, there are adjustments needed to make it work. I do not believe Ill be making a Tails specific guide, so you d require to construct your abilities and do it alone.I likewise am not sure how well hardware wallets will engage with this OS.Having said all this, a Tails computer system for bitcoin deals is a good additional option, and it will certainly help your general privacy skills to find out to utilize Tails.Other Options– Live OS BootThis is very comparable to Tails, other than the os is not privacy dedicated. The fundamental method to use this is to flash a USB drive with the Linux os of your option and make the computer system boot from that instead of the internal drive. How to do this is discussed later.The benefit is that you are less restricted and things will work without sophisticated tweaks.I am not exactly sure how well such a system isolates malware on the existing computer from the USB boot drive you utilize that holds the new operating system. It probably does a great job and is probably not as great as Tails, but my choice is the dedicated laptop.Other Options– Your Own Used Laptop Or Desktop ComputerUsing an utilized computer system is not ideal, generally since I am unaware of the inner workings of advanced malware, nor if wiping a drive suffices to eliminate it. It most likely is however I do not wish to underestimate how clever wicked hackers can be. You can choose; I dont wish to commit to this option.If you pick to use an old desktop instead of an old laptop, this will be great, other than that it will completely use up space for your probably unusual bitcoin deals; you shouldnt be utilizing it for anything else. Whereas with a laptop, you can just put it away and even hide it for additional security.Installing Linux Mint On Any ComputerThese are guidelines to wipe any operating system from your brand-new laptop computer and install Linux Mint, however you can adjust it to set up almost any Linux variation on practically any computer.We are going to utilize any computer system to flash the os to a memory stick of some sort. It does not matter which memory stick, as long as it works with a USB port, and I suggest 16GB minimum.Get one of these things: Or you can use something like this: Next, browse to LinuxMint.com.Hover the mouse over the “Download” menu at the leading and then click the link, “Linux Mint 20.3,” or whatever variation is the current recommended one at the time you do this.There will be a couple of “tastes” to select from. Opt for “Cinnamon” to follow in addition to this guide. Click the “Download” button.On the next page, you can scroll down to see the mirrors (different servers that hold a copy of the file we want). You can verify the download using SHA 256 and gpg (advised), but Im going to skip explaining that here as I have composed guides on this already.Choose a mirror thats closest to you and click its link (the green text in the mirror column). The file will begin downloading; the variation Im downloading is 2.1 GB.Once its downloaded, you can flash the file to a portable memory device and make it bootable. To do this, the easiest method is to utilize balenaEtcher. Download and install it if you dont have it.Then, run it: Click “Flash from file” and select the Linux Mint file you downloaded.Then click “Select target.” Make certain the memory gadget is plugged in and make certain you are selecting the correct drive, otherwise you might damage the contents of the wrong drive!After that, select “Flash!” You might need to enter your password. When its completed, the drive is most likely not going to be understandable by your Windows or Mac computer, since it has actually been transformed into a Linux device. Simply pull it out.Preparing The Target ComputerTurn on the brand-new laptop computer, and while it is powering up, hold down the BIOS key. This is normally F2, however it could be F1, F8, F10, F11, F12 or Delete. Attempt each one up until you get it, or search the web for your computer systems design and ask the best question, like “BIOS key Dell laptop computers.”Every computer system will have a different BIOS menu. Explore and find which menu enables you to set up the boot order. For our functions, we want the computer to try to boot from a USB connected device (if there is one connected), before attempting to boot from the internal hard disk drive (otherwise Windows will fill). You may need to conserve before exiting or it may conserve automatically.Reboot the computer and it ought to load from the USB memory device when you set that. We can now install Linux on the internal drive and Windows will be eliminated for good.When you get to the following screen, select “OEM set up (for manufacturers).” If you instead choose “Start Linux Mint,” youll get a Linux Mint session packed off the USB memory gadget, once you close down the computer system, none of your details is conserved. Its basically a momentary session so you can try it out.You will be taken through a graphical wizard which will ask you a number of concerns that need to be simple. One will be language settings, another will be your home web network connection and password. Decline it if prompted to set up additional software application. When you get to the question about the setup type, some people may think twice: You require to select “Erase disk and install Linux Mint.” Do not secure the drive and do not select LVM.You will eventually get to the desktop. At this moment, you are not quite completed. You are actually functioning as the producer (i.e., somebody setting and building a computer system up Linux for the customer). You require to double click the desktop icon and click “Install Linux Mint” to finalize it.Remember to get rid of the memory stick and after that reboot. After reboot, youll be using the Linux os for the very first time as a brand-new user. Congratulations!One of the very first things to do (and to do frequently) is to keep the system approximately date.Open the Terminal application, and type the following: sudo apt-get updateHit << get in>>, confirm your choice and then enter this command: sudo apt-get upgradeHit << get in> > and confirm your choice.Let it do its thing, it might take several minutes.Next, I like to set up Tor: sudo apt-get set up TorConclusionThis guide described why you might require a dedicated computer system for bitcoin transactions, and how to set up a fresh Linux Mint operating system on it.You can now install the bitcoin wallet of your option and utilize this computer system only for bitcoin deals. These are the only 2 wallets I generally advise: Electrum Desktop Wallet is for the advanced user or those who wish to end up being sophisticated. It is especially essential if you wish to follow my air-gapped computer system utilizing the Raspberry Pi Zero option.Sparrow Bitcoin Wallet is an excellent wallet that has a really stunning and user-friendly design.Happy Bitcoining.This is a guest post by Arman The Parman. Opinions expressed are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

I recommend people use an open-source operating system like Linux Mint, but use Windows or Mac if you should– thats better than using a routine, well-used computer system that usually has actually malware concealed in it.One challenge that people come across is setting up a brand-new operating system on such computer systems. One step better is to utilize a freshly set up Linux computer.If youre nervous about using Linux since of the unknown, thats natural, but so is investing some time learning. It utilizes Tor connections only, so you d require to be comfortable using Tor. It probably does a great task and is probably not as excellent as Tails, however my preference is the dedicated laptop.Other Options– Your Own Used Laptop Or Desktop ComputerUsing a used computer is not perfect, primarily due to the fact that I am uninformed of the inner functions of advanced malware, nor if cleaning a drive is adequate to get rid of it. You can decide; I dont want to dedicate to this option.If you select to utilize an old desktop rather of an old laptop computer, this will be fine, except that it will completely take up space for your probably unusual bitcoin deals; you should not be utilizing it for anything else.